In Dnipropetrovsk Region, Police Guarded a “Transition Celebration” of a UOC Community Joining the OCU

On Sunday, June 8, in the village of Zoria, Nikopol district, Dnipropetrovsk region, it was announced that the local religious community had moved from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to the structure of the OCU. According to the main representative of the OCU in Nikopol and the district, Merkurii Skorokhod, “on the day of Holy Pentecost, the community of Zoria of the Myrivska OTG came out of the spiritual captivity of the Russian church.” This was reported by the local news outlet “Vidomo.”

An interesting detail is that this “transition celebration” was guarded by law enforcement officers.

“We express special thanks to the law enforcement agencies of the Nikopol district for ensuring public order during the festive service,” wrote Merkurii Skorokhod.

Earlier, it was reported that Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Dubinsky commented on the absence of religious communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from the list of critical infrastructure objects — a designation that could have granted UOC clergy a deferral from mobilization into the Armed Forces. The MP believes that the destruction of the UOC in this way is seen as a prerequisite for Ukraine’s integration into the European Union.